Renewed attacks by Turkey this morning are so far unconfirmed.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s office said in a statement. “Our armed forces in the border region responded immediately to this abominable attack in line with their rules of engagement; targets were struck through artillery fire against places in Syria identified by radar,” the statement from Erdogan said. “Turkey will never leave unanswered such kinds of provocation by the Syrian regime against our national security.”
The escalating border tensions came after a day of intense violence in Syria with three large explosions in Aleppo that killed at least 41 people. In Damascus there were fierce clashes between loyalists and rebels and security sweeps by regime forces.
The international response to the Syrian violence spreading outside its borders has caused great concern, although it has been made clear that Turkey has no interest in escalating the situation. A statement made on Twitter by a senior official said Ankara had “no interest in war”.
US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton made a statement in support of the Turks, sayng: “With respect to what happened on the Turkey-Syria border, we are outraged that the Syrians have been shooting across the border. We are very regretful about the loss of life that has occurred on the Turkish side. We are working with our Turkish friends.”
